BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING
Singapore - One of the biggest obstacles companies in Singapore have to face in implementing an effective business continuity plan is obtaining the top management's support and cooperation from the employee population.
Dr Goh Moh Heng, president of BCM Institute, says companies that have yet implemented a business continuity plan (BCP) in Singapore usually face a lack of encouragement from CEOs. That's hardly a surprise, says Goh, as Singapore has a stable economy and business leaders "feel safe here". Similarly, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would not feel a need to invest in BCP because they are very much focused on their "bread and butter issues". Multinational corporations (MNCs), on the other hand, have to deal with many levels of bureaucracy before the BCP project leader obtains approval from the management.
According to Goh, a company would require at least four to six months to roll out a BCP strategy. That includes identifying the BCP project management leader and team, the levels of threats and the resources needed to fulfil the critical business needs in times of disasters. "Because we need the management to approve the business' critical functions [at each level of planning] and you know management [in MNCs] will sit probably on it for two, three weeks so there will be a delay."
Even if senior leaders are keen on implementing BCP especially after the H1N1 epidemic, most would rather engage an external consultant instead of appointing an internal team. But the problem with this frequently used "shortcut", says Goh, is that the consultant could be unscrupulous when providing his or her services. "You don't know what you do not know because most companies are still clueless about BCP."
When appointing an employee to head the BCP, senior management should look out for two characteristics in the candidate, says Goh. Besides having a good overview and knowledge of the entire business operation, he or she should have "close access to the top" because that allows them to easily gain approval at any level of the planning stage.
Lastly, the chosen BCP leader should always attend training courses in order to enrich their knowledge in this area. If you are appointed by your boss to do it, at least go learn what BCP is all about," says Goh. "So you have some clue as to what to do when you guide your team or when you want to engage a consultant."
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